Plant seeds of sustainability
My home is located on a small shaded lot, so I'm fortunate to be able to grow vegetables in the sunny Attleboro Community Garden on Hayward Street. The return on investment for my hours of labor is not great, but, like my father and grandfather before me, I get a sense of satisfaction from coaxing edible food from the Earth.
But gardening for me is not just a pleasurable pasttime. I'm also driven by a sense of insecurity. I fear the day when energy prices rise to the point where it is no longer economical to refrigerate and ship fresh food over great distances. If that day comes, I hope that local farmland will not have entirely disappeared, although it is shrinking fast as a result of distant market forces that seem beyond our control.
If we are ever forced by rising energy prices or other calamity to rely on local food production, it won't just be a matter of restoring land to agricultural use. We'll also need the seeds of heirloom crops traditionally grown here. And we'll need the knowledge of those who have traditionally farmed here.
The term "sustainability" recently entered our vocabulary in a big way. Corporate executives have been quick to latch on to the term and dilute its meaning, using it as a synonym for "profitability." What sustainability really means is living in harmony with the Earth. Our own communities are a good place to start practicing sustainability, and growing food locally is something that we can all support in one way or another.
If you are interested in gardening yourself, sign up early next year for a plot at the Attleboro Community Garden. This year's plots are all taken.
Another way to support local food production is to join a CSA, which stands for community-supported agriculture. A CSA is a cooperative organization in which members share the costs of paying a farmer to grow food for an entire five-month growing season. During that time you are entitled to pick up your share of the harvest on a weekly basis.
A CSA is a wonderful new kind of economic institution that brings people together in the pursuit of healthy diets and a healthy planet. There are three CSAs in the area: two with pick-up locations in Providence and one with a pick-up location in Plainville. All three are fully-subscribed for this season. Again, my advice is to sign up early for next year.
Yet another option is to take advantage of local farmers markets. The one in downtown Attleboro will begin on Saturday, July 15, from 8:00 am to noon, and it will continue each Saturday through October. Of course, it also wouldn't hurt to let your local supermarket know that you would like to see it offering locally grown food.
Buying locally grown food may seem like an inconsequential act, but it is a positive act, and there is strength in numbers. It also sets off a chain reaction of other beneficial effects. It puts you in touch with the place where you live and its seasonal variations. It puts fresh, tasty food on your table. It supports the local economy. It helps to protect open space. It requires less energy (supermarket produce travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your table.) It helps maintain the genetic diversity of local heirloom crop varieties. And it's a good insurance policy in an uncertain world.
Consuming locally grown food is on my top ten list of Things You Can Do to Save the Planet. As one slogan puts it, "Vote with your fork."
Links:
But gardening for me is not just a pleasurable pasttime. I'm also driven by a sense of insecurity. I fear the day when energy prices rise to the point where it is no longer economical to refrigerate and ship fresh food over great distances. If that day comes, I hope that local farmland will not have entirely disappeared, although it is shrinking fast as a result of distant market forces that seem beyond our control.
If we are ever forced by rising energy prices or other calamity to rely on local food production, it won't just be a matter of restoring land to agricultural use. We'll also need the seeds of heirloom crops traditionally grown here. And we'll need the knowledge of those who have traditionally farmed here.
The term "sustainability" recently entered our vocabulary in a big way. Corporate executives have been quick to latch on to the term and dilute its meaning, using it as a synonym for "profitability." What sustainability really means is living in harmony with the Earth. Our own communities are a good place to start practicing sustainability, and growing food locally is something that we can all support in one way or another.
If you are interested in gardening yourself, sign up early next year for a plot at the Attleboro Community Garden. This year's plots are all taken.
Another way to support local food production is to join a CSA, which stands for community-supported agriculture. A CSA is a cooperative organization in which members share the costs of paying a farmer to grow food for an entire five-month growing season. During that time you are entitled to pick up your share of the harvest on a weekly basis.
A CSA is a wonderful new kind of economic institution that brings people together in the pursuit of healthy diets and a healthy planet. There are three CSAs in the area: two with pick-up locations in Providence and one with a pick-up location in Plainville. All three are fully-subscribed for this season. Again, my advice is to sign up early for next year.
Yet another option is to take advantage of local farmers markets. The one in downtown Attleboro will begin on Saturday, July 15, from 8:00 am to noon, and it will continue each Saturday through October. Of course, it also wouldn't hurt to let your local supermarket know that you would like to see it offering locally grown food.
Buying locally grown food may seem like an inconsequential act, but it is a positive act, and there is strength in numbers. It also sets off a chain reaction of other beneficial effects. It puts you in touch with the place where you live and its seasonal variations. It puts fresh, tasty food on your table. It supports the local economy. It helps to protect open space. It requires less energy (supermarket produce travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your table.) It helps maintain the genetic diversity of local heirloom crop varieties. And it's a good insurance policy in an uncertain world.
Consuming locally grown food is on my top ten list of Things You Can Do to Save the Planet. As one slogan puts it, "Vote with your fork."
Links:
- Attleboro Community Garden
- Heirloom Harvest CSA
- Ledge Ends Produce CSA
- Urban Edge Farm CSA
- Farmers Markets in the Attleboro Area
- Southeastern Massachusetts Buy Local Campaign
- Massachusetts Grown Farm Products
- Farm Fresh Rhode Island
- Local Harvest
- Community Supported Agriculture
- 10 Reasons to Eat Local
--Published in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle, 6 July 2006
posted by Charles Adler at 11:24 PM
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